The next wave: Twin lift for new IT park

By ELLEN READ

AUT Technology Park, Auckland's newest incubator for start-up IT companies, marked its official launch yesterday with the news that it has gained a new member and established a "significant" development fund.

The park, which has been operating since January and now hosts around 20 businesses, has attracted GeoVector, a San Francisco-based telecommunications company specialising in mobile technologies.

The company plans to develop and test its technologies at the park and to work with a New Zealand operator.

Technology Park business operations manager Kate Pender said GeoVector was a welcome addition to the park, because it worked on a much more international basis than some of the park's existing businesses.

"The potential there is just tremendous," she said.

The new AUT Technology Park Development Fund would also boost the park's potential.

Mitsui and Co, the local arm of Japan's largest general trading company, was the first donor to the fund.

"We can't disclose [the amount] at the moment," Ms Pender said.

"I can say that it's a very significant amount and it will make a huge difference to the park."

The donation would assist the park in providing research and development infrastructure and marketing assistance to start-up IT firms.

It had been given by Mitsui "no strings attached."